According to the Bangkok Post witnesses told police that a Honda car was travelling along the irrigation canal road and was being followed by a pickup truck. The two vehicles crashed at the intersection, hitting a motorcycle.

At the same time, a Toyota car was going down the bridge and the driver tried to apply the brakes, but failed to stop in time. The car rammed into the pickup before plunging into the canal.

The force of the crash left three people dead and six others hurt, Thai media reported.

The injured were three women, one man, a boy aged 12 and a 5-year-old girl.

Police said Juree Pailom, 34, died near the pickup truck; Rachen Pupakdeepan, 28, was found dead inside the wreckage of the Toyota car that plunged into the canal, and a Dutchman, 75, (name withheald) was pronounced dead in hospital, according to Rattanavudh News, a non-profit news organisation covering road accidents.

Of the injured, two were travelling in the pickup truck: Udom Rudthang, 53, of Ratchaburi and Alinpat Pummee, 5, of Kanchanaburi. Marut Wanphuet, 27, of Kanchanaburi, who rode the motorcycle, and Apichit Deeprom, 12, the pillion rider, were injured.

The other two casualties were Ussanee Phetraksa, 51, of Kanchanaburi, a passenger in the Toyota, and Benjawan Sukhontha, 54, of Kanchanaburi, a passenger in the Honda car.